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Citizenship marriage bill expires in Israeli parliament
- Zach
- Nov 3, 2022
- 2 min read
A bill excluding Palestinians from gaining Israeli citizenship and rights when married to an Israeli has failed to be renewed for the first time since 2003, signaling weakness in PM Bennett’s coalition
By Jake Austin, 6 July 2021
The vote in the Knesset hung 59-59 on the night of July sixth before the tiebreaker voted no, ending the renewal of a bill - The Citizen and Entry Law - that blocks Israeli citizenship to Palestinians married to Israeli citizens. The bill had been routinely renewed every year since its proposal in 2003, despite accusations about its use to maintain an ethnic majority of Israelis among the citizenry. It is expected that thousands of Palestinians may now be able to apply for citizenship, and gain the rights denied under their previous “residency” status.
Ending the law means more Palestinians will have the freedom to move and work between the highly regulated regions of the Israeli state - as well as the right to vote in local and national elections. The erosion of a Jewish majority in certain regions will certainly have large effects on national politicians and policy when dealing with Palestine.
Bennett’s 62-coalition government, a patchwork of post-Zionist, Arab, and centrist parties formed two months ago, grated against itself in the long debates that proceeded the vote. Their unity to vanquish Netanyahu has seemingly vanished, and different figures in government have equally celebrated and bemoaned the bill’s failure on social media.
Members of Bennett’s own party voted against the renewal, even after he proposed a six-month renewal as a compromise that would also grant residency to roughly 1600 Palestinians. There are clear bitter feelings among the coalition of 62 out of 120 total seats. Further friction may lead to the collapse of the government majority, and further emergency elections. Whether those elections will pave the way for a young centrist or Netanyahu’s return remains to be seen.
There are still reasons to be cynical. Palestinian activists have pointed out that the thousands of Palestinians still need to face the biased citizenship application process. The Minister of the Interior has the ability to block many on vague grounds of national security. In the meantime, thousands of couples hang in the balance, uncertain of their future.
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